Luke Littler hits 9-dart finish, defeats Michael van Gerwen in Bahrain Masters final for first senior PDC title
/dnl.tntsports.co.uk/sd/img/placeholder/tnt_logo_1x1.png){kind=logo}
Published 19/01/2024 at 20:48 GMT
Teenage darts sensation Luke Littler won a World Series of Darts competition for the first time in his nascent career, as he won the Bahrain Darts Masters on Friday. The 16-year-old beat Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall on the way to the final, where he met the vastly experienced Michael van Gerwen. An 8-5 victory crowned a superb day for the youngster, as he had already landed a nine-darter.
Luke Littler
Image credit: Getty Images
Luke Littler beat Michael van Gerwen in the Bahrain Darts Masters final to win his first senior PDC title.
The 16-year-old Littler announced himself to the public last month when he made his debut at the 2024 PDC World Darts Championship.
Along the way to the final, he beat Raymond van Barneveld before being beaten by Luke Humphries in the final.
He also beat Gerwyn Price and Nathan Aspinall - the World Matchplay champion - earlier on Friday. He landed a 170 checkout against the former.
The pressure is already on Littler to show that his success was not a one-off, and he has gone some way to proving any doubters wrong by winning the final 8-5 on Friday, and doing so in style.
He also became the youngest player to have hit a televised nine-darter in his win over Aspinall in the quarter-finals, and beat three-time world champion Van Gerwen 8-5 in the competition finale.
Speaking on ITV4 after his victory, Littler said: “I am happy to win. Hit the nine in the quarters against Nathan. I played well yesterday and played well again tonight.
“No one probably believes, but I have not thrown a dart since the world final, and yesterday was my first proper practice.
“I am just happy to win against Michael who is the very best. So am happy to win on my debut.
“It has been unbelievable this week. I am happy to come out as the winner.”
Van Gerwen praised his opponent, but had words of warning for those clamouring to see Littler make it big at his tender years.
”He had a fantastic tournament," Van Gerwen said. “Everyone says he is the new kid, but everyone knows what he is capable of.
“The crowd, the television, everyone wants to make him bigger. But he is already a very good player. I know you want to push him, but let him grow, let him do his thing.
“You have to learn, the crowd has to learn and everyone who is involved in television has to learn, do not push too much.
"Of course we know he is a good player, but give him time and it will come, no problem.”
- - -
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Heineken Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media
Related Topics
Share this article
Advertisement
Advertisement